Amit Shah urges BJP workers in Kerala to gear up for polls

Kochi: Describing the current political climate in Kerala as "very conducive" for BJP to come to power, party President Amit Shah on Thursday urged cadres to make special efforts to woo various sections, including minorities, to ensure its victory in the coming assembly elections.

Amit Shah. PTI

Addressing BJP's Kerala core committee meeting at nearby Aluva, he said the Vimochana Yatra led by state party President Kummanam Rajasekharan had received a "positive" response from the people, party sources said.

The current political climate in the state, where the party has so far not been able to open its account either in Lok Sabha or Assembly elections, was "very conducive" for BJP, he said, referring to the good show by the party in the recent civic polls and the "positive response" to the yatra.

Shah wanted the cadres to make maximum use of the situation and reach out to all sections in the state, including the minority communities, the sources said.

"Now we have to generate confidence among the people that the party will come to power," he said, while calling for an action plan at the ward level to galvanise the party.

Briefing reporters after the meeting, Rajasekharan, who was recently appointed to the post of state party chief to steer it in the polls, said the party would soon constitute a 15-member election committee to finalise the candidate list.

"Several prominent personalities will be in the list," he said.

Asked whether he would be in the fray, Rajasekharan, who had been in the forefront of many agitations in the state, said he was "bound to obey whatever decision the party takes".

Stating that BJP's doors were "open" and it was ready for alliance with like-minded parties, Rajasekharan said the party, however, had not started the process of discussion in this regard with anyone so far.

But, he said, they will hold talks soon with various parties, including BDJS (Bharat Dharma Jana Sena), formed recently by the Sree Narayana Dharma Paripalana Yogam (SNDP) led by Vellapally Natesan.

"The immediate task before the party is to ready the organisational machinery to face the polls," he said.

Hitting out at ruling Congress-led UDF and CPI(M)-headed LDF opposition, whose successive governments had ruled alternately and allegedly ruined the state, Rajasekharan said, "So, we are confident that we will get people's vote. The effort is to garner the support of new voters."

He said the party had a 15 per cent vote share presently and it needed to increase that and added the BJP was contesting the polls this time to "win and rule".

BJP is making all out efforts to break the bipolar politics of UDF and LDF.

The party had received a shot in the arm in the civic polls held in November as it increased its vote base and made inroads in several areas.

Later, Shah also attended a core committee meeting of party leaders of Tamil Nadu to work out strategies and to strengthen the organisational set up in the state, which is also slated to hold assembly polls in a few months.

Besides the state presidents, general secretaries of the party in the two states, Union Ministers -- Prakash Javadaker, in-charge of party affairs in Tamil Nadu, J P Nadda, in-charge of Kerala, and Pon Radhakrishnan -- were among those who attended the meetings.